Thursday, February 11, 2010

Root Table – Seattle, WA

3Bagger recommended a few different places for lunch as we were all pretty famished after the mini-golf outing. We said we were thinking of a sandwich-y kind of place and we narrowed it down to the Root Table. For some reason, I couldn’t get the name right, so you may see me write about someplace called the Twisted Root or the Root-n-toot or the Common Root or the Rusted Root – it’s actually called the Root Table (I looked it up).

The inside of the place is like a Hobbit house. Very neat-looking on the inside. Very home-y. All the tables and chairs are hewn out of wood and weigh about 3,000 pounds. You need both hands to slide your chair out to sit down. And it’s not the most comfortable seating in the world either, but that’s beside the point. Let’s talk about food.

The menus are parchment attached to these heavy wooden slabs and are a bit unwieldy, but the items on them are amazing. The drink menu had a couple of drinks I really wanted to try, but I went with the Lychee Kamikaze (after I found out they do in fact put a lychee in the drink, not just lychee flavored things). The food menu had a TON of amazing Asian-inspired offerings. I couldn’t decide between like 5 different things. There were a couple of menu items of note however: The Double-fisted Duck and also the Manage-a-Thai. Both of which could be taken the wrong way (that’s what she said). But both looked delicious. I decided on the Satay Chicken Sandwich and a bowl of the Pumpkin Curry soup.

The drink came out and was really tasty. Very fruity with just a hint of mint. I cut up my lychee for the guys to try, since none of them had had a lychee before (again, the tastiest of the eye-ball shaped fruits). I’m not sure I won anyone over with it, but they have no taste, so screw them. Hahaha. I loved it. I’m going to see what I can do about making my own pitcher of lychee kamikazes at home.

The food came and looked amazing. Fortunately, it tasted even better than it looked. The pumpkin Curry soup was one of the best soups I’ve ever had. The waitress warned me it was spicy, which is why I got it. And I was pleasantly surprised. It had some MAJOR zing to it. I even steered Pul-Chevy away from trying a bite of it, since he’s got an Iowa-palette. The curry and the pumpkin flavors worked super well together and neither were overpowering. If anything, the spice level was the overpowering part, but it all worked really well together. Best item on the menu if you ask me.

The Satay Chicken Sandwich had chicken breasts, red peppers, and peanut sauce. It was pretty spicy, but delicious. Good flavor with the red peppers and the peanut sauce, and it didn’t really compete with the chicken flavor. You could still taste everything. I really liked mine, though I think there was some discussion of how other people’s food wasn’t exactly what they thought they ordered or up to their liking. We all got full, though, so I think that’s a good sign. I kept raving about the soup, to the point of being annoying, but it really was that good. I’d definitely go back here if I’m in Seattle again, especially if they have the pumpkin curry soup. I almost ordered a to-go container of it, but I knew we’d be eating later that night. It would have been awesome. I say thumbs on the Root Table. It’s a winner in my book, just for the creativity of the menu and the chefery!

Bottom 5 things1. So many delicious things on the menu, it’s difficult to decide2. Menus are a bit unwieldy3. I don’t think everyone was happy with their food choices, so be sure of what you’re getting4. Uncomfortable and super heavy furniture5. I can’t remember the name of this place to save my life